Hamas leader calls on Abbas to join 'Al-Quds Intifada'

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil on Tuesday called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to join the Palestinian people in the “popular uprising” currently underway in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem against the decades-long Israeli occupation of historical Palestine.

“President Abbas must engage with his people and work towards their empowerment,” al-Bardawil said in exclusive statements to Anadolu Agency.

“The Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Intifada broke out in response to Israel’s persistent attacks on the defenseless and innocent [Palestinians] and repeated incursions by Jewish settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound,” he added.

Al-Bardawil went on to assert that the current Intifada -- uprising in Arabic -- could not be stopped, as it was inextricably linked to the defense of Islamic holy sites, especially East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims represents the world’s third holiest site.

“The current Palestinian uprising emanates from the threat to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and from Israeli attacks on the Muslim women of Jerusalem,” he said.

This, he said, would ensure its continuation and extension across the Arab and Islamic world.